Mark Williams secures close win against Andy Hicks in Round 1: 2012 Welsh Open
Snooker fans present at the Newport Centre arena in Newport, Wales, witnessed another tussling first-round clash after the previous close encounters between Steve Davis and Ali Carter, Mark Selby and Sam Baird. This time they watched their home favourite,
Mark Williams sneaking through a topsy-turvy first-round affair against Englishman Andy Hicks by the score line of 4-3.
In the beginning, the match seemed to have slipped out of Williams’ hands as he was at the brink of losing it when the World Number 63 nudged him 2-3 down. He felt a bit disgraced at that time and decided to pounce back into the match using his ‘get out
of jail free card’. Hicks, on the other hand, was not able to hit even a single frame win after that.
Williams, to his own and the crowd’s disappointment was unable to perform up to his standards but he picked up his pace and ousted his opponent to the delight of the home fans.
The Welsh Potting Machine stayed focused on his game and finally won the match 4-3. The World Number two was unable to produce big breaks but still he pocketed a couple of noticeable knocks of 70 and 58 points to overpower the 38-year-old Hicks. Regardless
of his victory in his initial match, Williams felt disappointed on his not-up-to-the-mark performance against a lower ranked player.
“It was a bit frustrating really, the way I played for most of the game,” said the Welsh Wonder. “It was only the last two frames where I managed to make two excellent breaks. I don’t know where they came from because it was a bit of a struggle out there.
I wasn’t really punished. I think he’ll be very disappointed he didn’t beat me. He should have won.”
Williams’ next opponent in the second round of the 2012 Welsh Open might be the Rocket, Ronnie O’Sullivan or Hong Kong’s Marco Fu as the pair plays their opening match on Wednesday, February 15, at the Newport Centre arena. However, Williams hopes to play
O’Sullivan in his second round clash because he believes the Englishman is more than likely to win his match against Fu.
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